Watan-Director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismail al-Thawabta, shared a video on his X platform account documenting what he described as a humiliating aerial aid drop operation in the Gaza Strip.
In the video, a box loaded with aid is seen moments before landing in the territory, hitting the facade of a building, causing the box to shatter and its contents to scatter on the ground.
Al-Thawabta commented on this scene, saying: “Stop these backward and humiliating aid drop operations, stop this spectacle, and open the land crossings to bring in tons of aid.”
Criticism of Aerial Aid Drop Operations
The government media office has often criticized aerial aid drop operations as ineffective in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Earlier this March, the government office stated that a random aerial aid drop operation conducted in the Gaza airspace resulted in five casualties, describing it as an ineffective operation.
⛔️ أوقفوا عمليات إنزال المساعدات بهذه الصورة المهينة المتخلفة، أوقفوا هذا الاستعراض، وافتحوا المعابر البرية لإدخال أطنان المساعدات. pic.twitter.com/QHDKwzMCak
— إسماعيل الثوابتة #غزة (@ismailalthwabta) March 22, 2024
The government media demanded the immediate opening of land crossings to bring in thousands of tons of aid to prevent the worsening famine.
It pointed out that aid drop operations tend to be more about spectacle and publicity than humanitarian, humane, and service-oriented actions.
Aligned with Occupation Policies
The government office also previously pointed out that aerial aid drop operations and ignoring aid entry through land crossings are part of circumventing root solutions to the problem.
It emphasized that this operation is merely a facade of reality and aligns with the occupation’s policy of enforcing starvation, buying time for the occupation, and prolonging the famine to inflict as much harm as possible on the people and citizens.
Deepening Famine in Gaza
2.4 million citizens in the Gaza Strip suffer from severe food shortages, with the famine deepening further in the northern and central Gaza governorates.